January 9
Events * 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. *1349 - The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing bubonic plague, is rounded up and incinerated. *1431 - Judges' investigations for the trial of Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, the seat of the English occupation government. *1760 - Afghans defeat Marathas in Battle of Barari Ghat. *1768 - Philip Astley stages the first modern circus (London). *1788 - Connecticut becomes the fifth state to join the United States. *1793 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to fly in a balloon in the United States. *1799 - British Prime Minister William Pitt introduces income tax to raise funds for the war against Napoleon. *1806 - Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred at St Paul's Cathedral. *1816 - Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for Miners at Hebburn Colliery. *1822 - The Portuguese prince Pedro I of Brazil decides to stay in Brazil against the orders of the Portuguese king João VI, starting the Brazilian independence process. *1839 - The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process. *1857 - The Fort Tejon earthquake of California occurs, registering an estimated magnitude of 7.9. *1858 - Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide. *1861 - American Civil War: The "Star of the West" incident occurs near Charleston. It is considered by some historians to be the "First Shots of the American Civil War.") * 1861 - Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War. *1863 - The first section of the London Underground Railway opens -- between Paddington and Farringdon Street. * 1863 - American Civil War: the Battle of Fort Hindman occurs in Arkansas. *1878 - Umberto I becomes King of Italy. *1880 - The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow. *1882 - Oscar Wilde gives his first lecture on "The English Renaissance of Art" in New York. *1894 - New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington. *1900 - S.S. Lazio is founded in Rome, Italy. *1903 - Hallam Tennyson, son of the famous poet Alfred Tennyson, becomes the second Governor-General of Australia. *1905 - According to the Julian Calendar which was used at the time, Russian workers stage a march on the Winter Palace that ends in the massacre by Tsarist troops known as Bloody Sunday, setting off the Russian Revolution of 1905. *1914 - Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. was founded on the campus of Howard University. *1916 - The Ottoman Empire prevails in the Battle of Çanakkale, as the last British troops are evacuated. *1917 - World War I: the Battle of Rafa occurs near the Egyptian border with Palestine. *1923 - Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro flight. *1941 - First flight of the Avro Lancaster. * 1941 - World War II: The Greek Triton (S.112) sinks the Italian submarine Neghelli in Otranto. *1945 - The United States invades Luzon in the Philippines. *1947 - Elizabeth "Betty" Short, the Black Dahlia last seen alive. *1951 - United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City. *1964 - Martyrs' Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the US-controlled Panama Canal Zone,leading to fighting between US military and Panamanian civilians. *1968 - The first and last time to date snow fell in Mexico City along with days 10 and 11. *1972 - RMS Queen Elizabeth is destroyed by fire in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. *1986 - After losing a patent battle with Polaroid, Kodak leaves the instant camera business. *1991 - The Soviets storm Vilnius to stop Lithuanian independence. *1997 - A Comair Embraer 120 crashes during approach into Detroit Metro Airport, killing 29 people. *2001 - Shenzhou 2, an unmanned Chinese spacecraft, was launched. *2002 - The United States Department of Justice announces it is going to pursue a criminal investigation of Enron. *2003 - Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes into hangar on take off in Charlotte, NC. All 19 passengers and 2 crew dead. *2005 - The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, commonly known as the Naivasha Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebel group in Naivasha, Kenya *2005 - Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh. *2006 - The Phantom of the Opera surpasses the record set by Cats for the title of longest running show on Broadway. *2007 - An AerianTur-M Antonov An-26 crashes in Balad, Iraq. The Islamic Army in Iraq claims to have shot it down. Births *1554 - Pope Gregory XV (d. 1623) *1571 - Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, French soldier (d. 1621) *1589 - Ivan Gundulic, Croatian poet (d. 1638) *1624 - Empress Meishō (d. 1696) *1685 - Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist (d. 1766) *1728 - Thomas Warton, English poet (d. 1790) *1773 - Cassandra Austen, English watercolorist and sister of Jane Austen (d. 1845) *1790 - Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet (d. 1855) *1811 - Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, English writer (d. 1856) *1823 - Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (d. 1908) *1829 - Thomas William Robertson, English playwright (d. 1871) * 1829 - Adolf von Schlagintweit, German explorer (d. 1857) *1832 - Félix-Gabriel Marchand, journalist, author and politician, Premier of Quebec (d. 1900) *1848 - Princess Frederica of Hanover (d. 1926) *1849 - John Hartley, English tennis player, double winner of Wimbledon (d. 1935) *1854 - Jennie Jerome, American society beauty and mother of Winston Churchill (d. 1921) *1856 - Anton Aškerc, Slovenian priest and poet (d. 1912) *1864 - Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician (d. 1926) *1868 - S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist (d. 1939) *1870 - Joseph B Strauss, American civil engineer (d. 1938) *1873 - Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Hebrew poet (d. 1934) *1875 - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American socialite (d. 1942) *1879 - John Broadus Watson, American psychologist (d. 1958) *1881 - Lascelles Abercrombie, British poet and critic (d. 1938) * 1881 - Edouard Beaupré, horse lifter (d. 1904) * 1881 - Giovanni Papini, Italian writer (d. 1956) *1890 - Karel Čapek, Czech writer (d. 1938) * 1890 - Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist (d. 1935) *1892 - Eva Bowring, American politician (d. 1985) *1897 - Karl Löwith, German philosopher (d. 1973) *1898 - Vilma Bánky, Hungarian actress (d. 1991) * 1898 - Gracie Fields, English vaudeville performer (d. 1979) *1899 - Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian composer (d. 1977) *1900 - Maria of Romania, Queen Consort of Yugoslavia (d. 1961) *1901 - Chic Young, American cartoonist (d. 1973) *1902 - Rudolph Bing, Austrian-born opera manager (d. 1997) * 1902 - Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish religious author (d. 1975) *1903 - Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator (d. 1969) *1904 - George Balanchine, Russian dancer/choreographer (d. 1983) *1908 - Simone de Beauvoir, French author (d. 1986) *1909 - Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (d. 1994) *1911 - Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque performer (d. 1970) *1912 - Ralph Tubbs, British architect (d. 1996) *1913 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (d. 1994) *1914 - Kenny (Klook) Clarke, American jazz drummer and composer (d. 1985) *1915 - Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor (d. 1982) *1916 - Vic Mizzy, American orchestra leader * 1916 - Peter Twinn, English World War II code-breaker (d. 2004) *1920 - Clive Dunn, British actor * 1920 - Hakim Mohammed Said, Pakistani scholar *1921 - Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (d. 2006) *1922 - Har Gobind Khorana, Nobel laureate * 1922 - Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (d. 1984) *1924 - Sergei Parajanov, Armenian film director (d. 1990) *1925 - Lee Van Cleef, American actor (d. 1989) *1926 - Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, Lieutenant governor of Quebec (d. 2002) * 1926 - Giannis Christou, Greek composer (d. 1970) *1928 - Judith Krantz, American author * 1928 - Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter (d. 1994) *1929 - Heiner Muller, German dramatist (d. 1995) * 1929 - Brian Friel, Irish dramatist * 1929 - Dorothea Puente, American serial killer *1931 - Algis Budrys, American author *1933 - Robert Garcia, American politician *1934 - Bart Starr, American football player *1935 - Earl G. Graves, Sr., African-American Publisher *1935 - Bob Denver, American actor (d. 2005) * 1935 - Dick Enberg, American sportscaster *1936 - Anne Rivers Siddons, American writer *1939 - Susannah York, British actress *1940 - Jimmy Boyd, American actor and singer * 1940 - Barbara Buczek, Polish composer (d. 1993) * 1940 - Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss politician *1941 - Joan Baez, American singer and activist * 1941 - Gilles Vaillancourt, Quebec politician *1942 - Lee Kun-hee, Korean industrialist, chairman of samsung * 1942 - K Callan, American actress *1943 - Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer * 1943 - Elmer MacFadyen, Canadian politician (d. 2007) *1944 - Jimmy Page, English guitarist (Led Zeppelin) *1947 - Ronnie Landfield, American artist *1948 - Bill Cowsill, American singer (The Cowsills) (d. 2006) * 1948 - Cassie Gaines Backup Singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977) *1950 - David Johansen American singer * 1950 - Rio Reiser, German singer (d. 1996) *1951 - Crystal Gayle, American singer * 1951 - M.L. Carr, basketball player and coach *1952 - Hugh Bayley, British politician *1955 - J. K. Simmons, American actor *1956 - Kimberly Beck, American actress * 1956 - Imelda Staunton, British actress * 1956 - Mike Walczewski, American Public Address Announcer at Madison Square Garden *1957 - Phil Lewis, lead singer of L.A. Guns *1958 - Mehmet Ali Ağca, Turkish attempted assassin of Pope John Paul II * 1958 - Stephen Neale, British philosopher *1959 - Mark Martin, American race car driver * 1959 - Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize laureate * 1959 - Cristi Minculescu, Romanian musician * 1959 - Otis Nixon, American baseball player *1961 - Oliver Goldstick, American screenwriter *1963 - Michael Everson, expert in writing systems and Unicode *1965 - Eric Erlandson, American musician * 1965 - Joely Richardson, British actress * 1965 - Darren Bennett, Australian-born American football player * 1965 - Muggsy Bogues, American basketball player * 1965 - Iain Dowie, English football manager *1967 - Claudio Caniggia, Argentinian footballer * 1967 - Steven Harwell, American singer and musician (Smash Mouth) * 1967 - Dave Matthews, South African singer and musician * 1967 - Carl Bell, American musician *1968 - Jimmy Adams, West Indian cricketer * 1968 - Joey Lauren Adams, American actress * 1968 - Al Schnier, American rock guitarist *1970 - Alex Staropoli, Italian keyboardist * 1970 - Lara Fabian, Belgian singer *1971 - Daniel Dumile, American hip hop artist * 1971 - Scott Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player * 1971 - Yusuke Naora, Japanese game art director *1972 - Sarah Beeny, British TV personality * 1972 - Jay Powell, baseball player *1975 - Angela Bettis, American actress * 1975 - Kimberley Ann Scott Mathers, former wife of Eminem * 1975 - Kiko Calero, baseball player *1976 - Todd Grisham, American professional wrestling interviewer * 1976 - Radek Bonk, Czechoslovakian ice hockey player *1978 - Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player * 1978 - Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer * 1978 - Chad Johnson, American football player * 1978 - AJ McLean, American singer * 1978 - Maggie Rizer, American model and AIDS activist *1979 - Tomiko Van, Japanese singer *1980 - Sergio García, Spanish golfer *1981 - Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer *1982 - Kate Middleton, girlfriend of Prince William of England *1987 - Paolo Nutini, British singer/songwriter *1987 - Pablo Santos, Mexican actor (d. 2006) * 1987 - Sam Bird, British racing driver *1989 - Michaella Krajicek, Dutch tennis player *1997 - Lauryn McClain, American actress and singer Deaths *1150 - Emperor Xizong of Jin was murdered by Prince Hailing of Jin in a Coup d'état. *1282 - Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd Hakam al Qurashi, ruler of Minorca (b. 1204) *1283 - Wen Tianxiang, Prime Minister of China (executed) (b. 1236) *1499 - Johann Cicero, elector of Brandenburg (b. 1455) *1514 - Anna, Duchess of Brittany, queen of Charles VIII of France (b. 1477) *1543 - Guillaume du Bellay, French diplomat and general (b. 1491) *1562 - Amago Haruhisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1514) *1571 - Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, French naval officer (b. 1510) *1598 - Jasper Heywood, English translator (b. 1553) *1677 - Aernout van der Neer, Dutch painter (b. 1603) *1757 - Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, French scientist and man of letters (b. 1657) * 1757 - Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician (b. 1688) *1766 - Thomas Birch, British historian (b. 1705) *1799 - Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian scientist (b. 1718) *1800 - Jean Étienne Championnet, French general (b. 1762) *1805 - Noble Jones, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723) *1848 - Caroline Herschel, German-born astronomer (b. 1750) *1858 - Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (suicide) (b. 1798) *1873 - Napoleon III, Emperor of France (b. 1808) *1876 - Samuel Gridley Howe, American abolitionist (b. 1801) *1877 - Alexander Brullov, Russia painter (b. 1799) *1878 - Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy (b. 1820) *1895 - Aaron Lufkin Dennison, American watch manufacturer (b. 1812) *1901 - Richard Copley Christie, English scholar (b. 1830) *1908 - Wilhelm Busch, German painter (b. 1832) * 1908 - Abraham Goldfaden, Russian-born actor (b. 1840) *1911 - Edwin Arthur Jones, American composer (b. 1853) * 1911 - Edvard Rusjan, Slovene flight pioneer (b. 1886) *1918 - Émile Reynaud, French scientist (b. 1844) *1923 - Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand writer (b. 1888) *1931 - Wayne Munn, wrestler (b. 1896) *1936 - John Gilbert, American actor (b. 1899) *1939 - Johann Strauss III, Austrian conductor (b. 1866) * 1939 - Johnny Gruelle, American creator of Raggedy Ann (b. 1880) *1946 - Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (b. 1874) * 1946 - Countee Cullen, American poet (b. 1903) *1947 - Karl Mannheim, German sociologist (b. 1893) *1960 - Elsie J. Oxenham, British children's author (b. 1880) *1961 - Emily Greene Balch, American writer, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1867) *1971 - Giannis Christou, Greek composer (b. 1926) * 1971 - Elmer Flick, baseball player (b. 1876) *1972 - Ted Shawn, American dancer (b. 1891) *1975 - Pierre Fresnay, French actor (b. 1897) * 1975 - Pyotr Sergeyevich Novikov, Russian mathematician (b. 1901) *1981 - Kazimierz Serocki, Polish composer (b. 1922) *1984 - Wolfgang Staudte, German director (b. 1906) *1985 - Robert Mayer, British businessman and philanthropist (b. 1879) *1987 - Marion Hutton, American singer (b. 1919) * 1987 - Arthur Lake, American actor (b. 1905) *1989 - Bill Terry, baseball player (b. 1898) *1990 - Spud Chandler, baseball player (b. 1907) *1992 - Bill Naughton, British playwright (b. 1910) * 1992 - Steve Brodie, American actor (b. 1919) *1993 - Sir Paul Hasluck, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1905) *1994 - Johnny Temple, baseball player (b. 1927) *1995 - Peter Cook, British actor and comedian (b. 1937) * 1995 - Souphanouvong, President of Laos (b. 1909) *1997 - Edward Osobka-Morawski, Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1909) * 1997 - Jesse White, American actor (b. 1917) *1998 - Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate (b. 1918) *2000 - Nigel Tranter, Scottish historian and author (b. 1909) *2001 - Maurice Prather, American photographer (b. 1926) *2003 - Will McDonough, American sports journalist (b. 1935) *2004 - Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher (b. 1909) *2005 - Gonzalo Gavira, Mexican film sound technician (b. 1925) *2006 - Andy Caldecott, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1964) * 2006 - Mikk Mikiver, Estonian actor, director (b. 1937) *2007 - Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (b. 1977) Holidays and observances * Martyrs' Day (Panama) commemorates the 1964 riots over sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone * Black Nazarene feast in the Quiapo district, Manila, Philippines * Balloon Ascension Day http://www.backwash.com/previewnewsarchive.php?newsid=348 * January 9 Religious feasts *Adrian of Canterbury*Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4. *Metropolitan Philip II of Moscow *Theophan the Recluse References External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- January 09